Fabian Perez (b. 1967) is an Argentine artist whose figurative paintings have made him one of the most widely collected contemporary artists in the world — a practitioner whose chiaroscuro technique, psychological depth, and sustained engagement with the human figure in states of emotional intensity have earned him a collector base that spans sporting superstars, musicians, actors, and heads of state.
Born in Buenos Aires, Perez developed what he calls Neo-Emotionalism — a philosophy of painting in which the importance of emotion exceeds the importance of technique, in which the feeling a work generates is the measure of its success rather than any formal criterion. His dark, atmospheric compositions — luminous figures emerging from near-black backgrounds, the light falling on a face or a dress with the precision of a Baroque master — carry this emotional charge with remarkable consistency. The geisha of Japan's flower towns, the couples who haunt the tango clubs of Buenos Aires, the women who occupy his celebrated hotel interiors: all of these subjects have a story to tell, and Perez tells it without explanation, trusting the image to communicate what language would diminish.
He was named official artist to the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He has received the Artist of the Year award from the Italian Academy of Artists and the Art Tour International Magazine Master of Contemporary Art award. The Argentine government funded a rare public exhibition in his honour. His portrait of Pope Francis now hangs in the Pontiff's personal private collection.
His collectors include Sugar Ray Leonard, Shaquille O'Neal, Lionel Messi, Rihanna, Shakira, Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, and John Bishop. Available through Creed Gallery, Ascot, for collectors across Berkshire, Surrey, and London.
